Cash register and indicator



(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1. O. E. LORD. CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

No. 445,670. Patented Feb. 3, 1891.

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CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

No. 445,670. Patented Feb. 3, 1891.

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0.3mm). CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

No. 445,670. Patented Feb. 3, 1891,.

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iJNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES EDGAR LORD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONALCASI-I REGISTER COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

CASH REGISTER AND INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,670, dated February8, 1891.

Application filed May 7. 1889. Serial No. 309,888. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES EDGARLORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Sultolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cash Registers andIndicators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

My improvement relates to that class of cash registers and indicatorswhich are provided with a registering mechanism actuated by a series ofoperating-keys, which usually cooperate with a series ofindicating-tablets, to both indicate and register the value of each keyas it is operated. In such machines it is desirable, for reasons wellknown to those familiar with their use, to provide means to prevent theresetting of a key to normal position after it has been partially butnot fully operated, and to lock the unoperated keys until suchpartially-operated key has been operated to its full extent; and myinvention relates to the provision of improved means for these purposes.

Its novelty will be herein set forth, andspecifically pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of amachine embodying my invention with a portion of the rear side of theframework broken away. Fig. 2 isa corresponding view showing one of thekeys in a partially-operated position. Fig. 3 isa rear elevation of thesame with the indicating-tablets broken away and the reg isteringmechanism removed. Fig. dis a detail view showing the engagement of thewing with one of the arms of the keyarrestin g bar. Fig. 5 is a detail.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts inall the figures.

I have illustrated my improvements as applied to a well-known form ofmachine whose general construction may be thus briefly described:

The registering and indicatingmechanisms are supported in a properframe-work A, and are designed to be inclosed in the usual case orcabinet, (not shown,) through the front of which the front ends of theoperating-keys B project, and in the upper rear portion of which is aglass-covered reading-opening for the exposure of theindicating-tablets. The keys B are pivoted on a shaft C, extendingacross the front of themachine. Theirfront ends are provided withnumbered finger-buttons, while their rear ends, resting in normalposition on the erosspiece D of the framework, play up and down in slotsin a guideplate E and carry verticallyguided tabletrods F, provided attheir upper ends with numbered indicating-tablets G and surrounded bythe usual coiled resetting-springs H.

The tablet-rods are provided with shoulders c, which are engaged by thepivoted wing I, provided with an upward extension J, carrying thegong-hammer K, and actuated upon the operation of any key to engage theshoulder of the operated tablet-rod and to cause the gonghammer tostrike the gong K in the following manner and by the following means:Extending across and resting upon thekeys in rear of theirpivotalsupport is the bar L, hung by side arms M upon the shaft C.Pivoted, as at a, to the frame of the machine is a bell-crank arm N,whose lower forwardly-extending portion is connected by a slot and pinto the bar L or to one of its side arms M, and whose upwardly andrearwardly extending portion carries a weighted tripping-dog O, pivotedas at Z), and whose rearwardiy-extending nose engages a wiper-block 0upon the upward extension J of the wing I. A spring P (shown only inFig. 3) presses the wing I and its extension J inward and yieldinglyholds them in normal position. It results from this construction thatwhen the front end of a key is depressed the bar L will be lifted, thebellcrank arm N rocked, and its upwardly and rearwardly extendingportion thrown backward, and the dog 0 will engage the wiperblock 0 onthe extension J and push said extension and the wing I backward againstthe resistance of the spring P until, the shoulder of the operatedtablet-rod having passed above the wing, the nose of the dog 0 slipspast the wiper-block c, the extension J and wing I are released andthrown back to their normal position, the hammer K striking the gong K,and the wing I engaging the shoulder of the elevated tablet-rod to. holdits exposed tablet exposed to View, all in the usual manner, and as willbe readily understood. lVhen the operated key is released it resetsitself, the bar 0 and bell-crank arm N resume their normal position, andthe nose of the dog 0 slips back over the wiper-block 0, ready foranother operation.

The registering mechanism illustrated in the drawings consists of -twobanks of individual registering-wheels Q Q, the wheels of the lower,bank being engaged by actuatingdogs d, pivoted to the keys B, and eacharranged to turn its corresponding wheel one number upon each fulloperation of its key. Each wheel of the upper bank is turned one numberat each complete revolution of its corresponding wheel in the lowerbank, in the usual manner.

As a means for preventing the resetting of a partially-operated key tonormal position before the same has been fully operated, I provide ahorizontal key-arresting bar extending across the rear ends of the keysand so arranged and actuated that when a key is partially operated itwill engage and support the key in its partially operated positionshould it be released before it has been fully operated, and upon thefull operation of the key it will be automatically disengaged therefromto permit the key to be reset to its normal position, and for thefurther purpose of preventing the operation of a second key after afirst hasbeen partially but not fully operated I soconstruct and arrangethis key-arresting bar that when one key is partially operated the barin moving into engagement with said key to support it if released willassume such a position relatively to the unoperated keys as to lock allof them from operation until after the partially-operated key has beenfully operated. In this manner a single bar may be made to act both as akey-arresterto prevent the resetting of partially-operated keys and as akey-lock for the unoperated keys; or, as hereinafter explained, it maybe constructed and arranged to be used for either purpose independentlyof the other. As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it consists.of a horizontal bar R, hung upon suitable pivotal supports, as the rodS, and extending across the rearside of the machine, with its lower edgein close proximity to and slightly above the horizontal plane of therearends of the keys, and provided on its inner face with a series ofserrations or engagingshoulders f extending its entire length. Under theform illustrated its longitudinal central portion is thickened androunded out on its rear side, and it is so pivoted on the rod S thatwhen free to move on its pivots it will swing in over the rear ends ofthe keys to the position. shown in Fig. 2. Such beingthe normalpositionwhich the bar tends to assume by its own gravity, it is made tooperateas a key-arresting and key-locking bar by providing means forholding it out of such position position when the keys are at. rest andto return it to such position after a key has been operated, and Iemployit for this purpose in the following manner: I provide the bar Rwith one or more upwardly-extending arms T-in this instance twoone ateach end of the bar, and each of which passes through and has limitedplay in a slotted plate U, se-

cured to the wing I, as seen more particularly.

in Fig. 0. It results from this construction and arrangement of theparts that when the wing I is in its normal inward position the plates Uwill hold the arms T tilted inward and the bat-.13, tilted outward, asshown in Fig. l, and that when the wing I is moved outward the bar Rwill be free to swing inward to the position shown in'Fig. 2. In theoperation of the machine, therefore,when the front end of a key isdepressed the bar L is lifted and the bell-crank arm N oscillated, thedog 0 pushes the extension J and wingI backward, and the bar R swingsinward and its shoulders f engage the rear end of the operated key,while itslower edge moves over and locks the unoperated keys. If the keywhose front end has been depressed is fully operated its rear end merelyslips over the shoulders fot the bar-R, and when it has reached itslimit of operation thedog O slips past the wiper-block c, the spring Presets the wing I and extension J, and the bar Bis returned to theposition shown in Fig. l to While I have shown the barR as so shaped andpivoted that it will swing into engaging and locking position by its owngravity, yet it is not essential that it should do so, for other andindependent means may be employed for moving it into such position; Forinstance, in Fig. 5 I have shown a spring V for that purpose, securedfor convenience to the wing I and bearing against the rear side of thebar R. In such case as thegravity of the bar is not depended on to moveit into operative position it may be made much lighter than shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

lVhere it is desired to employ the bar R- merely as a key-locking bar,the shoulders f may be dispensed with and the lower edge of the bar beits only operative part; or where it is-desired to employ it merely as akey-arresting bar the shoulders may be retained and the lower edge ofthe bar be beveled 0%, as shownby the dotted lines in Fig. 5.

v I wish it understood that the machine I have shown and described hasbeen selected by me for this purpose merely because it is of awell-known type and affords a convenient means of showing theapplication of my improvements, and, such being the ease, the meanswhich I have illustrated for actuating the key-arresting and locking-barare only incidental to the particular construction of this machine, andsuch other suitable means may be employed for this purpose as may befound convenient or desirable in the different machines to whichmyimprovements may be applied. Nor do I wish to be limited to theparticular form or arrangement of said bar, for they may be largelyvaried without changing its general mode of operation and the resultsaccomplished thereby; also, while I have shown my improvements asapplied to a machine whose registering mechanism consists of a series ofindividual registering-wheels, one for each key, and each arranged to beturned one number by a full operation of its key, they may be employedto perhaps even greater advantage in machines which have aregistering-wheel common to and actuated by each of a series of keys,for in such machines the wheel is actuated to different degrees by keysof differentvalues, and it is absolutely essential to an accurateregistration that each key be operated to its full extent before beingreset.

I am aware that it is notentirely new in i arresting devices forpreventing the resetting of a partially-operated key, but thoseheretofore in use have been radically different from mine both inconstruction and mode of operation. One form of such devices heretoforein use consisted of a laterally-movable grid of vertical rack-barssupported at the rear of the machine, through which grid the rear endsof the keys projected, and which moved sidewise upon the lifting, of therear end of a key so that one of its rack-bars engaged the side of thekey and supported it in partially-operated position if released; but mysingle horizontal bar movable in the plane of movement of the keysinstead of transversely thereof has obvious advantages over such adevice as that above described, both in simplicity of construction andincreased eiiiciency of operation.

In another application filed by me August 3, 1888, Serial No. 281,878, Ihave shown and described a diiferent embodiment of my invention, inwhich a series of individual keyarresters and key-locks are employed,one cooperating with each key, said key-arresters and locks being of asimilar shape in crosssection to the bar R of my present application andarranged to operate in a similar manner.

I do not claim herein the combination,with the operating-keys, of akey-lock arranged upon the partial operation of a key to lock theunoperated keys and to hold them from operation until thepartially-operated key has completed its stroke and to then unlock andrelease said keys, as I have claimed said subject-matter in anotherpending application filed by me August 3, 1888, Serial No. 281,878.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. In a cash registerand indicator,the combination, with the operating-keys, of a bararranged when a key is partially operated to move into a position tolock the unoperated keys and to be moved outof such locking positionwhen said key has been fully operated, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

9. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofpivoted operatingkeys, of a horizontal bar extending across the same andarranged when a key is partially operated to move into a position tolock the unoperated keys and to be moved out ofsuch locking positionafter said key has been fully operated, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

3. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a bar arranged when a key is partially operated tomove over the unoperated keys and lock them from operation, and upon thefull operation of said key to move from over and release said unoperatedkeys, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a cash register andindieator, the combination, with the series ofpivoted operating-keys, of a bar extending across the rear of themachine and arranged when a key is partially operated to move over therear ends of the unoperated keys and lock them from operation,substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In acash register and indicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a pivotally-supported horizontal bar extending acrossthe keys and arranged when a key is partially operated to swing into aposition to lock the unoperated keys from operation and to move out ofsuch position after said key has been fully operated, substantially asand for the purpose described.

6. In a cash register andindicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a pivotally-supported horizontal bar extending acrossthe rear of the machine and arranged when a key is partially operated toswing over the ends of the unoperated keys and lock them from operationand to move out of such locking position afterthe full operation of suchkey, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

7. In a cash registerandindicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a bar normally tending to move into a position tolock the keys from operation, and a device for holding said bar out ofsuch locking position when the keys are at rest, but arranged to permitit to move into such position whenever any key is partially operated,substantially as and for the purpose described;

8. In a cash register and indicator, the com- IIL- bination,with aseries of operating-keys of dilferent values and a registering mechanismactuated thereby to register the values of the respective keys, of ahorizontal key-arresting bar extending across the entire series of keys,movable in the plane of movement thereof, and arranged to engage any keyof the series when partially operated to prevent it being reset ifreleased and to be disengaged therefrom when said key has been fullyoperated, whereby a single bar is made to operateas an arrester for allthe .keys of the series, substantially as described.

9. In a cash register and indicator, the com- 'bination, with a seriesof operating-keys of difierent values and a registering mechanismactuated thereby to register the values of the respective keys, of ahorizontal key-arresting bar extending across the entire series of keys,pivoted 011 an axis transversely thereof, and arranged to engage any keyof the series when partially operated to prevent it being reset itreleased and to be disengaged therefrom when said key has been fullyoperated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys of different values and a registering mechanism actuatedthereby to register the values of the respective keys, of a horizontalkeyarresting bar extending across the rear ends of the entire series ofkeys, pivoted on an axis transversely thereof, and arranged to engageany key of the series when partially operated to prevent it being resetif released and to be disengaged therefrom when said key has been fullyoperated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys, of a horizontal key-arresting bar extending across therear ends of the entire series of keys and movable in the plane ofmovement thereof, and arranged when any key of the series is partiallyoperated to move beneath the end of said key to hold it in itspartiallyoperated position if released, and upon the full operation andrelease of such key to move from beneath the end thereof to permit it toreset itself, substantially as and for the purpose described.

12. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys of d'ilferent values and registering and indicatingmechanisms actuated thereby to register and indicate the values of therespective keys, of a horizontal key-arresting bar movable in the planeof movement of the keys and arranged to engage a partially-operated keyto prevent it being reset it released and to be disengaged therefromwhen said key has been fully operated, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

13. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a combined key-locking and key-arresting bar arrangedwhen a key is partially operated to key to move from over the unoperatedkeys and from beneath the operated key to unlock the former and topermit the latter to reset itself, substantially as and for the purposede scribed.

15. In a cash register and indicator, the.

combination, with the operating-keys, of a pivotally-supportedhorizontal bar arranged when a key is partially operated to move into aposition to lock the unoperated keys and prevent the resetting of thepartially-operated key, and upon the full operation and release of saidkey to move out of such position to unlock the unoperated keys andpermit the partially-operated key to reset itself, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

16. In a cash-register and indicator, the combination, with theoperating-keys, of a pivotally-supported horizontal bar extending acrossthe rear of the machine and arranged when a key is partially operated tomove over the unoperated keys and beneath the operated key to lock theformer from operation and to support the latter in itspartially-operated position if released, and upon the full operation andrelease of such key to move from over the unoperated keys and from beneath the operated key to unlock the former and to permit the latter toreset itself, substantially as and for the purpose described.

17. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys and a series of tablet-rods and indicating-tabletsactuated thereby, a series of registeringwheels, one for each key, and aseries of actuating-dogs pivoted one to each key and arranged to engageits corresponding registering-wheel and turn the same one number uponeach complete operation of such key, of a horizontal bar extendingacross the rear of the machine and arranged when a key is partiallyoperated to move beneath the end of said key and hold the same in itspartially-operated position if released, and upon the full opera tionand release of said key to move from beneath the end of said key topermit it to reset itself, whereby when a key is partiallyoperated andreleased and is then operated to its full extent only one registrationwill be effected by both the partial and complete operations of suchkey.

18. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys and a series of tablet-rods and indicating-tabletsactuated thereby,a series of registeringwheels, one for each key, and aseries of actuating-dogs pivoted one to each key and arranged to engageits corresponding registering-wheel and turn the same one number uponeach complete operation of such key, of a pivotally-su pported horizontal bar extendin gaeross the rear of the machine and arranged when a keyis partially operated to move beneath the end of said key and over theends of the unoperated keys to support the former in itspartially-operated position it released and to lock the latter fromoperation, and upon the full operation and release of the former to movefrom beneath the end of said key to permit it to reset itself, wherebywhen a key is partially operated and released and is then operated toits full extent only one registration will be effected by both thepartial and complete operation of such key.

19. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with a series ofoperating-keys arranged in two banks and provided on their front endswith numbered buttons, a series of tablet-rods and indicating-tabletsactuated by said keys,a series of registering-wheels arranged in twohorizontal banks, one over the other, and extending across the machine,and a series of actuating-dogs pivoted one to each key and arranged toengage its corresponding registeringwheol in the lower bank and turn thesame one number-at each complete operation of such key, of a horizontalkey-arresting bar pivotally connected to the frame of the machine andextending across the rear there of, said bar being yieldingly held inits normal position, but actuated upon the operation ot' any key andarranged when a key is partially operated to swing beneath the end ofsaid key and over the ends of the unoperated keys to support the formerin its partiallyoperated position if released and to lock the latterfrom operatiomand upon the full operation and release of the former toswing back to its normal position to permit said key to reset itself,whereby when a key is partially operated and released and is thenoperated to its full extent only one registration will be effected byboth the partial and complete operation of such key.

20. In a cash register and indicator, the combination, with the seriesof operatingkeys, of the bar R, extending across the entire series ofkeys, movable in the plane of movement thereof, and arranged to operatesubstantially in the manner and for the pur- 3 pose specified.

CHARLES EDGAR LORD. \Vitnesses:

CONRAD Reno, EDWARD HECTOR.

